World War I witnessed a significant migration of African Americans from the fields of the South to the factories of the North. Many settled in Harlem, which quickly became the mecca for African American writers and artists. Notable among the writers were Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Alain Locke, who drew on their largely neglected African American heritage. Harlem also became home to a rich jazz culture during the 1920s. Denying that African Americans or their culture could ever find a home in the United States, Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey found popular support when he urged Harlemites to return to Africa.

Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Explain how Harlem became the center of African American cultural life.

2. Discuss the contributions to the Harlem Renaissance of a prominent African American writer, artist, or musician.

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